National Assembly of New Englia
The National Assembly of New Englia is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of New Englia. The National Assembly meets in Parliament Hall in New Indrala. The National Assembly has a total of 300 seats with each province divided into congressional districts based upon population. Representatives are elected based upon the district they serve in. The National Assembly has sole control over the passage of all spending bills. =Membership= Qualifications The 15th Amendment of the Constitution sets qualifications for representatives. A representative must be at least 35 years old. Members must be a citizen of New Englia for at least 10 years and must be a legal citizen. Congress has passed additional requirements such as members must be (at the time of the election) an inhabitant of the province they represent and must've lived in the district they wish to represent for at least 5 years. Election and Terms As per the Constitution, representatives are directly elected by the people and serve a term lasting no longer than three years and are not subject to any term limits. Election Elections for representatives are held every three years, on March 1. Representatives are elected from single-member districts by plurality voting. In 3 of the provinces, candidates for each district are nominated in partisan primary elections, typically held in late summer or early fall the year before. The other 2 provinces have the Colonial and New-Dawn parties choose their respective candidates for each district in their political conventions in spring or early summer. The Territory know as the Isle of Fire is unique in that it holds an all-party "primary election" on the general election day with a subsequent runoff election between the top two finishers (regardless of party) if no candidate received a majority in the primary. Term A term of Congress is divided into three sessions, one for each year; A new session begins on March 23 and runs until December 23 of each year. Congress may also be called for an extra or special session at any time. Congress also engages in Joint sessions which requires a majority vote from both houses before it can be enacted. Joint sessions are always called when the Governor-General gives the annual State of the Republic Address and is presided over by the Speaker of the Assembly. Senators serve three years and are not limited to any term limits. Privileges Members of enjoy the privilege of being free from arrest in all cases, except for treason, felony, and breach of the peace. This immunity applies to members during sessions and when traveling to and from sessions. They're also guaranteed absolute freedom of debate in both houses and may not be sued for slander because of remarks made in either house. However, each house has its own rules restricting offensive speeches, and may punish members who transgress them. Salary As of 3104, rank and file members of the National Assembly receives a yearly salary of 84,500 FRX. National Assembly leaders are paid 110,500 FRX per year while the Speaker of the Assembly is paid 110,500 FRX. The senate along with the National Assembly is barred from increasing there pay without unanimous consent from both houses by way of a vote. =Officers= The party with a majority of seats in the Assembly is known as the majority party. The next-largest party is the minority party. The Speaker, committee chairs, and some other officials are required to be from the majority party; they have counterparts (for instance, the "ranking members" of committees) in the minority party. Speaker of the Assembly The Constitution requires the Assembly to choose its own Speaker. The Constitution does not specify the duties and powers of the Speaker, which are instead regulated by the rules and customs of the Assembly. Speakers have a role both as a leader of the Assembly and the leader of their party. Under the Eleventh Amendment in the Constitution, the Speaker is third in the line of executive succession behind the Vice General. The Speaker is the presiding officer of the Assembly but does not preside over every debate. Instead, he or she delegates the responsibility of presiding to other members in most cases. The presiding officer sits in a chair in the front of the chamber. The powers of the presiding officer are extensive; one important power is that of controlling the order in which members may speak. No member may make a speech or a motion unless he or she has first been recognized by the presiding officer. Speakers serve as the chair of their party's delegation committee, which is responsible for assigning party members to Assembly committees including the chairs of the committee. The Speaker is not allowed to be a member on any committee as it may create a political conflict of interest. Party Leaders Party Leaders are elected by their respective parties in closed-door meetings by secret ballot and are also known as floor leaders. The National Assembly is required to use the term "Minority Leader" when refering to the leader of the party in the minority. Oddly, the media does not follow suit and instead uses the terms "Colonial Leader" or "New-Dawn Leader". =Committees= In the National Assembly, there is a total of 15 standing committees with a maximum number of 9 representatives to each committee. Each member serves on at least 2 committees with the 27 most tenured members serving on 3 committees. The only members who cannot serve on a committee are the Speaker and the Majority and Minority Leaders. The majority party holds the chairmanship of every standing committee in the National Assembly and has five members to the minority party's four. Three joint committees (conference, taxation and economic) which operate with members from both houses on matters of mutual jurisdiction and oversight. List of committees *Agriculture *Appropriations *Armed Services *Commerce *Energy *Environment *Ethics *Foreign Affairs *Immigration *Judiciary *Natural Resources *Rules *Science and Technology *Small Business *Transportation and Infrastructure =Legislative Process= Only a member of the National Assembly can introduce the bill for consideration. All bills and resolutions are "referred" to one or more committees according their specific rules. The committee considers the bill in detail and, if the committee approves the bill, it moves on in the legislative process. Committees reject bills by either failing to act on them or voting not to recommend the bill to the full house for debate. If a bill is recommended, it is then brought up to the floor of the full house for debate. Once debate has ended and any amendments to the bill have been approved, the full membership will vote for or against the bill; if passed it is sent to the other chamber for consideration where they will follow pretty much the same track of committee to debate to vote. =Current Membership= ' |- !colspan=6 align=center|National Assembly Election of 3116 |- !colspan=2 align=center|Party !align=center|Seats Won !align=center|Seat Change !align=center|Provincial Majorities !align=center|Territorial Majorities |- |bgcolor=red| |style="text-align:center"|Colonial Party |style="text-align:center"|171 |style="text-align:center"|↓18 |style="text-align:center"|3 |style="text-align:center"|1 |- |bgcolor=lime green| |style="text-align:center"|New-Dawn Party |style="text-align:center"|129 |style="text-align:center"|↑18 |style="text-align:center"|2 |style="text-align:center"|0 |- ! colspan=2 bgcolor=lightgray style="text-align:center" | '''Total' |bgcolor=lightgray style="text-align:center"|'300' | | |- | |style="text-align:center"|Majority |style="text-align:center"|42 |- |} =Links= Congress of New Englia